Mirrors and Pearls, Mirrors and Pearls
by LibertyBellJar
Summary: After spending a few years studying abroad, pokemon coordinator Haruka is ecstatic to pursue the Shinou Grand Festival. However, she didn't expect to meet the beautiful Hikari and maybe even fall in love! Contains shoujoai material. SapphirePearlshipping
1. Emotions and Motives One and the Same?

I do not own Nintendo or Pokemon, or its characters. This story is purely fanmade.

Mirrors and Pearls, Mirrors and Pearls

Chapter One: Emotions and Motives- One and the Same?

-------------------

Main characters in this chapter:

HarukaMay; age: 19

HikariDawn; age: 18

ShinjiPaul; age: 19

ShuuDrew; age: 20

Nozomi; age: 20

-------------------

_Can you go five minutes without screwing _something _up?!_

_Why won't you quit nagging on me? That's all you do, and it's making me sick!_

_Whine-whine-whine- get over yourself already!_

_For Christ's sake, comb your hair! You look like a bum!_

_Stop saying that you're gonna go do so well at the freakin' preliminaries, it's getting annoying!_

Shinji's harsh words echoed through her mind, just like they always did when she sulked after being yelled at.

_Why does he treat me like that? _she thought, trying to fight off the streams of tears she feared when gush out at

any moment.

_But I can't leave him! _she thought adamantly. _He needs me. Maybe he doesn't know it, but he needs me. He loves _

_me, I'm sure he __does. He wouldn't be able to go on without me_. However, she was started to doubt her own

reassuring words. _Did _he need her? Did she need him? Was her heart in the right place, but his in the wrong? She

shook of these thoughts. He _did _love herand he _did _need her. And, more than anything else, she needed him.

Desperately.

---

"No, no, Snorlax!" Haruka sighed exasperatedly, resting her forehead in the palm of her hand. "I said _snore _not _leer_.

Ugh,just return to your pokeball for now." She sighed again and sat down to recline on the cool grass outside of

the Shinou Grand Festival Contest Hall. She certainly had a long way to go before Snorlax was anywhere near

being fit for the grand festival. Maybe she'd be better off using her Beautifly...

"E-excuse me!" a girl's voice interrupted Haruka's thoughts. "I hate to be a bother, but you've sat on my pokétch!"

"I'm so sorry!" Haruka blushed, jumping up. She knelt down to pick up the pink watch-which was, luckily,

undamaged- and turned to look at the owner of the pokétch. She was stunned for a moment by the strikingly pretty

girl with long, dark blue hair and bright cerulean eyes. The girl smiled brightly at her, and gently took the watch

from Haruka's hand. "I'm Hikari, by the way," the girl told her. "I guess you're entering the Shinou Grand Festival, too?"

Haruka quickly nodded, unable to speak. She felt her face beginning to grow red.

"That's great!" smiled Hikari brightly. "I'll definitely look forward to seeing you in the preliminaries! Good luck!"

"You too," Haruka forced herself to say, then smiled sheepishly. Hikari laughed lightly and waved as she walked

away.

When she was out of sight, Haruka sighed deeply and sank back onto the ground. She was beginning to blush again

and felt so bewildered. Why was she feeling so...odd? Why did this Hikari girl have such a profound effect on her?

Why did a goddamn _girl _have _any_ effect on her?! She leaned back on the cool grass and let the sun flow over her

face as all the thoughts ran through her head like a gushing river. _I seriously need to take a mental health day_.

---

Hikari surreptitiously tiptoed into her dormitory room provided by the grand festival committee, so as not to

disturb Shinji.

But her efforts were in vain.

The violet-haired youth stood cross-armed next to the bathroom, and flicked on the lightswitch when Hikari had

taken a few gentle steps in.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" he roared, taking several menacing steps toward her. "I've been waiting here

for over a goddamn hour!"

Hikari whimpered slightly and fought back tears. "I-I was just out training my Floatzel-"

"Don't lie to me like that!" he snapped. "I've seen you and that Kengo freak eying each other! You've been with him,

haven't you?! Wouldn't be too difficult for you to sneak over to one of the dark corners of the parking lot and have

a little fun, would it, eh?" His eyes seethed with unfathomable fury and Hikari began breathing rapidly and she

slowly backed away from him.

"Shinji, honey, you don't understand-" Shinji cut her off mid-sentence and cuffed her cheek.

"Shinji! Please, darling, stop, I would never cheat onyou!" she wept as she collapsed into a limp heap on the

floor.

Shinji sneered at her. "You're a weakling, just like the rest," he scoffed, and he walked through the ajar door. His

words stung like sharp knives on Hikari's ears. he could be rough with her sometimes, but she rarely seen him

so...livid. Kengo wasjust a friend- why couldn't he accept the fact that she could just have friends and still be

faithful to him?! Why did her have to be jealous anytime she was with another guy?

_It's only because he really cares about me, _she reassured herself. _He loves me, and...and he just doesn't want to _

_have to share __me with someone else!_

_---_

_Can't...get...her...out...of...my...head! _the words ran through Haruka's mind over and over again. They'd had only

just met, and already the girl had completely taken over Haruka's mind. The cheery smile, the long, dark blue

hair...and underneath, the subtle feeling of a darkness looming all around the girl. The enigma of it all...Haruka

HAD to see her again. But how?

"Aha!" she said, as an idea suddenly revealed itself to her. "I'll call the dormitory directory- they'll have to have her

dorm room's phone number!" She jumped off the carpeted floor and rushed over to the beige-colored telephone.

"What's the directory number, again?" she murmured to herself, checking the numbers listed next to the phone.

"Let's see- ah! 322-9991!"

_Riiiiiing...riiiiiing...riii-_

"Hello this is the Shinou Grand Festival Dormitory Directory, how may I be of assistance?" chirped a young

woman from the other end of the line.

"I-I-um..." stammered Haruka. Good God, what had she been thinking?! She couldn't just instantaneously call up

some girl who was practically a stranger to her-

"Yes-sss?" sighed the young woman exasperatedly. "Can I help you, miss?"

"IneedthephonenumberofagirlcalledHikariplease!" Haruka blurted out loudly into the phone.

"Eh?" said the young woman. "What was that? I couldn't decipher what you just said."

Haruka inhaled deeply. "I need the phone number of a girl called Hikari," she said calmly, even though her heart

was pumping a mile a minute.

"Let's see..." said the young woman, who was apparently looking up the name on a computer. "There are four

Hikari's here currently. Can you give me any more information about the Hikari in question?"

"Well, she has dark blue hair and sky-blue eyes," Haruka responded weakly.

"Oookay," said the woman. "Ehm...oh wait, here she is! Her number is 322-9989."

"Thank you so much!" Haruka said excitedly, her heart thumping faster again.

"You're welcome, hon," replied the woman, who then hung up the phone.

Haruka pulled a piece of Skitty stationary and rapidly copied down the number the woman had given her.

"322-9989," she repeated to herself, feeling a drop of sweat glide down the back of her neck. Was she seriously

going to go through with this?

_Yes! I have to see Hikari again!_

_But what if she thinks I'm some sort of creep who just calls up complete strangers?_

_**Maybe**__ she'd do that, but she might also be really eager to see me again! Almost as eager as I am..._

Haruka jabbed her index finger into the buttons, and held her breath when she heard the ringing.

---

Hikari studied her face meticulously in the bathroom mirror. She was still shaking after Shinji's outburst, but she

looked externally serene. She placed her slender hand around the onyx-black hairbrush and began brushing out her

hair gently, slowly.

Then the phone began ringing.

Hikari's grip tightened around the bush, and she began to wince. Was this Shinji calling? Was he going to torment

her further?

_He doesn't mean to torment me. He just doesn't know how to show his affection properly._

Still, she couldn't bring herself to answer the phone. It was like her feet were bolted down to the linoleum floor.

The phone persisted, though, and continued ringing through two solid minutes.

"It can't be Shinji," she breathed. "He would never wait this long for me to answer the phone."

She was relieved, but at the same time anxious. Who else would call her? She knew hardly anyone else here, and

those she did know didn't have her number...

She took a few strides out of the bathroom and toward the phone. With a trembling hand, she lifted the phone off

the hook.

"H-hello?" she whispered.

"Hikari?" said a voice at the other end. "Is that you? Can I speak with you? Is this is a bad time?"

"U-eh..." Hikari felt a bit overwhelmed. Why in the hell would someone randomly call her up and bombard her

with these questions? "Erm, who-who is this, again?"

"I'm so sorry!" the voice on the other end exclaimed. "I got nervous and forgot to tell you...I'm Haruka Normandy,

the girl you met earlier, do you remember?"

"Oh...yes," replied Hikari, her voice becoming somewhat vague. "Yes, yes, I remember." She paused for a moment

and laughed lightly. "The girl who sat on my pokétch, right?"

"Well, yeah," Haruka responded sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about that, Hikari."

"'Salright," laughed Hikari. She paused thoughtfully for a moment and said in a softer tone, "Haruka, I know this is

sudden, but-"

"Yes?" Haruka said, trying to cover up her eagerness.

"Could you meet in the mess hall in a few minutes?" asked Hikari. "It'd be nice to talk to someone who's not

Shinji-ehm-talk to another girl."

"It's a date!" squealed Haruka. "Oh, I-I mean- see you there!"

Teeming with exhilaration, Haruka hung up the phone and dashed over to the bathroom mirror. Her hands fluttered

aimlessly all over her clothes and face and she had no idea what to do.

"What have I done?" she groaned, her mood dropping from ecstasy to horror. "I have a date with a girl I barely

know, and I'm going to humiliate myself in front of her and all the other coordinators." She rested her arms on the

bathroom counter and felt her head slunk into them. "This was a bad-bad idea." She lifted her face to look at herself

in the mirror. "Who am I?" she sighed. "I'm not a lesbian...am I?"

Something flickered inside her, like a flame rekindling a dormant candle. "I can't give up now!" she cried, jerking

out of her pitiful position. "Not when I've gotten this far! I AM going to the mess hall and I AM going to talk with

Hikari!" She lifted her head high and held her back straight as a soldier's. "And nothing will stop me!" she shouted.

What Haruka didn't know was that a certain green-haired boy hovered outside her dorm, eavesdropping.

"Nothing, eh?" he sneered. "Not even me?"

---

Hikari took a magenta windbreaker out of the closet and slowly zipped it up so that only the collar of her emerald-

green sweater was visible. She checked herself over in the mirror and scooped her navy-blue hair into a messy bun

at the top of her head. She grinned widely at herself to make sure there were no particles of food caught between

her teeth.

"Okay," she said to herself, checking her pokétch for the time.

_19:12_. The mess hall should still be open at this hour. Shinji wouldn't be back from the bars until around ten.

Hopefully.

Hikari slapped some lotion on her dry skin and headed out the door.

As she glided down the sidewalk toward the mess hall, she bumped into a tall boy with green hair who stood there

stoically, not even bothering to move or excuse himself.

"Oh, excuse me," she said brushing herself, feeling a bit perplexed by the boy's lack of response. She peered at him curiously for a minute, and then waved a hand in front of his face. "_EEEExcuse _me."

The boy angrily swatted her hand away and glared maliciously at her.

"Fuck off," he snarled. Feeling flustered and more than a little frightened, Hikari managed a clumsy bow and

mumbled, "I'm sorry, please pardon me," before scampering down the hall until the boy was out of sight.

_I hope I don't run into _him _again_.

Hikari continued to runt through the halls, checking the signs on the doors to see if any were the mess hall. Finally,

she arrived at the large ebony doors which had "SHINOU GRAND FESTIVAL CONTEST HALL MESS HALL" engraved deeply through its center.

When Hikari had been here before with her mother, Ayako, the doors to the mess hall had been very stiff and

difficult to open. So, she threw her weight against the door and shoved.

To her surprise, the doors were much easier to open than she'd remembered, and Hikari ended up falling face-flat

on the tile floor of the mess hall. Several other coordinators present ogled at her, a few others began laughing at

her, and only one bothered to come over and help her up. That one was Haruka.

The pretty brunette offered her hand to Hikari, and she took it as Haruka pulled her back up to her feet.

"Déjà vu," chuckled Hikari.

"Hm?"

"Oh, well, when I entered my first Super Contest, my friend Nozomi who I'd just met, helped me up after I had

fallen."

Haruka smiled. "I hope you didn't take a tumble while you were doing your appeal."

Hikari shook her head. "No, it was afterward-"

"Can I help you?" snapped a cafeteria worker, who was looking rather irritable.

Embarrassed, Hikari cleared her throat. "Um, yeah," she replied, taking a seat at the nearest small table. "Could you

get us two cups of green tea?" The cafeteria worker just grunted and stalked off to the kitchen.

"What **lovely** service they have here," remarked Haruka, taking a seat across from Hikari.

Hikari just laughed and said, "So, where have you traveled, Haruka?", trying to make light conversation.

"Oh...Houen, Jouto, Kantou, and, just recently, Shinou. I hope to visit Oure sometime...or maybe the Orange

Islands. I hear they're a really awesome place to visit in the wintertime."

The two girls continued talking and giggling until the cafeteria worker brought out the tea.

Lifting up the delicate porcelain cup, Haruka took a deep sip. "A tad bitter," she commented. "But I like my tea that

way." Hikari stared in a spacey manner into her tea for a minute and then began slowly, "Earlier in the hall I ran

into a really rude boy with green hair..." She saw a look of consternation briefly flicker in Haruka's eyes, but the

young woman quickly covered it up with fake indifference.

"Oh...well-yeah...that's too bad," remarked Haruka idly, trying to evade the subject. "So, um, have you prepared

your Pokémon enough for the preliminary round coming up in a few days?"

_Why would she try to change the subject so quickly? _Hikari thought. She gave Haruka an inquisitive look.

"You wouldn't happen to know any rude, green-haired boys, would you, Haruka?" she interrogated.

Haruka's face turned red and she opened her mouth, ready to deny ever knowing a boy who fit that description,

when she was interrupted by someone throwing the mess hall doors open.

"Shuu!" she gasped, jumping out of her seat.

The boy smirked at her. "Haruka," he replied smugly.

---

"Misdreavus? Are you okay?!" Nozomi called as she dashed toward the enormous oak tree to attempt to catch the

descending Pokémon.

"Oh no," she moaned, catching the ghostly Pokémon in her arms. "The Staravia you were battling up there must

have battered you up pretty badly!"

She cradled Misdreavus in her arms and soothed, "Don't worry! I'll get you over to the Pokémon center as fast as I

possibly can!" Her heart pounding, and legs working full-tilt, she soon made it over to the Shinou Grand Festival

Contest Hall Pokémon Center. She shoved the swinging glass doors open and pelted inside.

"Nurse Joi!" she called hoarsely, realizing the reception desk was vacant. "Hello? Are you here!"

"She's on break!" snapped a fierce-looking lavender-haired boy nearby. He advanced a few steps toward her and

looked her up and down, sneering. "I take it you're a girl," he remarked.

"Yes, I AM a girl!" Nozomi responded indignantly. "Are you flippin' blind or something?!" The boy gave her a

glare that chilled her to the bone, though she showed no sign of it outwardly. He slipped out the doors as Nurse Joi

entered.

The nurse curtsied to Nozomi. "May I help you, miss?"

Nozomi smiled gratefully at her. "Yes, thank you," she answered.


	2. Friendships and Rivalries Rekindled!

I've used the Japanese names of the characters for this story. If you only know the English names and not the Japanese ones, I've included the characters' English names next to the Japanese ones in the character list ;-). However, I do use the English names for the Pokémon themselves (because I've only ever played the English versions of the games, and I'm too lazy to look up the Japanese names of the Pokémon ;-P)

Rated T for coarse language, some violence, and some adult themes- so the whole package, basically

This story contains shoujo-ai (or girl/girl love), so if you are offended by such material, please do not read or flame, m'kay?

This chapter has some SapphirePearlShipping, IkariShipping (I guess...), and _some _AppealShipping

-------------------

Main characters in this chapter:

Haruka (May); age: 19

Hikari (Dawn); age: 18

Shuu (Drew); age: 20

Nozomi (Zoey); age: 20

Kengo (?); age: 18

-------------------

Mirrors and Pearls, Mirrors and Pearls

Chapter 2- Flames of Friendship and Rivalry Rekindled!

"Long time no see," smirked Drew, his emerald green eyes lighting up in that same wanton way Haruka despised.

"Seven years since the Johto Grand Festival," sighed Haruka, lowering her eyes so she wouldn't reveal her seething emotions.

Hikari looked peculiarly at the two fellow coordinators. This was certainly odd. She hadn't expected the churlish boy and the amiable Haruka to act like this toward each other!

_How do they know each other? Are they old friends? Is Haruka his jilted lover?_ But Hikari was much too engrossed with the ongoing scene to bother either of them with these questions.

Haruka finally lifted her eyes to glare at Shuu. "I hope you have a good reason for butting in on me like this-"

"Hush, Haruka," sighed Shuu. He looked Haruka up and down and slowly gave her a sly, lecherous smile. "Well, you're just as sexy and full of spunk as ever, Ms. Haruka."

Haruka sneered at him. "Yeah, sure, just don't go wolfman or anything," she replied wryly.

But, much to her dismay, instead of backing off after her retort, Shuu simply laughed at her.

"And you _still _have that dry humor I always loved," he remarked, clearly trying to egg her on further.

"And you still don't know when to shut the hell up!" Haruka lashed out angrily, taking a stride toward the youth, who still showed no signs of alarm at Haruka's suddenly volatile behavior.

"I told you seven years ago, and I'm telling you now, _back off! _I'm NOT interested!"

Shuu carelessly put his hands up in front of his person. "Calm down, Haruka," he said smoothly, as though he had done nothing to provoke her. "I meant no offense-"

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up!" Haruka shouted, causing the entire population of the mess hall to look at her with consternation. "Stop talking like I don't know you, Shuu! I know sure as hell you were trying to upset me-"

She hadn't noticed the ill-natured cafeteria worker scuffing away from her cash register and toward her.

"Excuse me!" the woman barked brusquely from behind, causing Haruka to jump and her face to turn red. "If you're having a problem, I suggest you take it _out _of the mess hall."

Feeling extremely embarrassed, Haruka barely managed to feebly nod her head, but Shuu stuck out his hand toward the cafeteria worker, turning his face away and shutting his eyes.

"It's all right, Miss-" he began.

"That's MISSES Turnway!" she bellowed.

Shuu turned his face up gave her a slight sneer and continued. "It's all right, _**Mrs. **_Turnway, I was just on my way out, thank you very much."

Mrs. Turnway quickly bobbed her head and lumbered back over to her cash register and small black stool.

Shuu smirked one last time at Haruka, and turned toward the doors that led to the outside world.

"See you later, Haruka," he called, briefly raising a hand to bid farewell.

"I sure hope you won't!" Haruka yelled after him, her brunette hair flying to the front of her face. But she was too late. Shuu had already closed the mess hall doors behind him and started off to some unknown destination.

"Good riddance," muttered Haruka, and she turned around toward Hikari. She was more than a little surprised to find that most of the cafeteria-goers were gawking at her like she was some kind of sideshow attraction.

_I've had enough of this_, she thought, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Hikari gently pulled back Haruka's chair for her and smiled sweetly as Haruka took a seat and groaned out of exhaustion. She frowned and picked up her tea cup and drained the last of the liquid out of it.

"Shuu is such an asshole," she complained, wiping her moist mouth off with her cream-colored napkin. "Walking right in here and giving me that crap..."

"Haruka," Hikari interrupted her, giving her a concerned look with her deep blue eyes. "How do you know this Shuu guy? Why was he bothering you? Is he a criminal? Oh my God, Haruka, he's not a criminal is he?! Ar-are you in the witness protection program?! What the hell is going on-"

"Chill out!" Haruka interjected, causing the other coordinators in the mess hall to stare at her again. Haruka turned her face toward them and gave them all an acute glare. "Is there a problem?" she asked loudly, loud enough for all of the others to hear and for all of them to know they should be minding their own business. She saw all of them quickly look away from her, and then begin whispering to anyone sitting nearby. She knew they were all talking about "that crazy girl at the front of the mess hall," but she had other issues about which to be worried at the moment.

"Look, Hikari," Haruka said in a softer tone, leaning in closer to her companion. "Shuu is _not_ a criminal, but he's definitely not someone you'd want to get tight with."

Hikari gave Haruka a perplexed look and slowly leaned back in her chair, away from her. "Wh-what do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hikari, listen to me," Haruka said sternly, her brow furrowing. "No matter what he does to try to get you close with him, stay away from him. He's the kind of guy who sucks you in and spits you out."

Hikari looked dismayed when Haruka had uttered the last of her statement.

"What makes you so sure he'd try to make me get close with him?"

Haruka's frown grew deeper. "Knowing him, he'd never resist pursuing someone like you," she replied.

"Someone like me..?" said Hikari softly, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "Wh-what do you mean by that, Haruka?"

_Damn! I shouldn't have said that! If she suspects I think she's attractive_... Haruka shook off these thoughts, but she couldn't help when her face turned a beet red in a deep blush.

"Haruka, are you okay..?" began Hikari, but she was cut off by Haruka who began laughing nervously.

"Of course I'm okay! I'm fine! I'm great! I just got a little...mm...carried away with the whole Shuu business! It's really nothing to worry about, Hikari. I was just, y'know, overreacting, and so on," she replied quickly. The moment the last word left her mouth, she knew she shouldn't have said it. The overly exuberant tone of her voice would only cause Dawn's suspicion to grow further.

"Oh," said Dawn softly, slightly raising an eyebrow. "Well, o-okay." She frowned for a moment in thought, and then began slowly, "Haruka, do you think-" she paused for a moment, then a blushed, apparently embarrassed by the remark she was about to make. "Do you think that men-ah-think that I'm, well, you know, um..." she sucked in a deep breath and spat out the rest, "sexually attractive?"

Haruka's eyes sprang open in surprise and Hikari heard her take in a short, quick breath.

"Uh, uhm..."

_Shoot! How am I supposed to answer __**that**__?! Damn! I'm gonna totally blow it-_

Haruka laughed nervously and and leaned back into her seat, her eyes darting around the room.

"Well, how am I supposed to answer that?" she forced herself to giggle, twisting a lock of brunette hair around her index finger, a nervous habit of hers. "_I'm _not a man! I honestly have no idea what makes a girl sexually desirable!"

_Yeah, like hell I don't..._

"But, I mean, um, well, Shuu usually seems to prefer girls who you share...physical traits with."

Hikari lifted herself out of her seat slightly and her eyes widened in interest.

"Really?" she said, a hint of pleasant surprise in her voice. "You really think he'd find me...attractive? Not that I'd ever go out with him or anything...it's just, I've always thought I was kind of funny looking."

"No way," said Haruka incredulously. "You're far from funny looking, believe me, Hikari."

_Damnit! I need to keep myself from letting out remarks like that..._

Hikari closed her eyes and smiled graciously at Haruka.

"Well, that's just what I've heard from..._some people_," Hikari replied, her voice wavering a bit, even though she kept beaming at Haruka. "That's awfully sweet of you to say, Haruka."

Haruka's cheeks became red, and she just shrugged. "It's no big deal or anything, I just think you should know you're definitely not homely or anything..." her voice trailed off, but Hikari was hardly paying attention anymore. Her chin was resting in the palms of her hands and she was staring absently off into one of the tall glass windows of the mess hall, her body planted firmly in her chair, but her mind drifting off to some other time and place.

_"Shinji, will you hold me?" The radiant young girl looked earnestly into the stone-cold eyes of the lavender-haired youth who stood silently at her side. She gingerly placed her pale hand around his right arm, only to have it brusquely shook off. He turned his head quickly to her, only to give a stern look, then he turned his head back to the front, to gaze upon the sea. Small pieces of ice and stark white foam drifted carelessly along with the flotsam and jetsam, some allowing themselves to be pulled onto the wintry Canalave beach, others casting themselves off into the far reaches of the ocean, perhaps dreaming of landing in some far, faraway place. Just like she was. Just like the beautiful young lady of fifteen years who stood on an icy pier overlooking a perpetually cold ocean, who felt like an altaria trapped in a too-tight cage. A gilded cage, that came along with luxuries any other altaria would die a thousand times over for, but still a cage. And any cage, no matter how opulently lush, was a torment for her...for anyone, for anything! Even a person struck with unbelievable poverty who had freedom was a wealthy man. Even a pidgey, dragging itself along the forest floor in starvation, its flock stuck in a famine, as long as it had freedom, it had something better than all the worldly luxuries. _

_Hikari shut her eyes against the formidable cold and relaxed the muscles in her face that had tightened with anxiety. She wasn't thinking clearly. She knew it. If she had her freedom, she lost her security, and the one person who kept her food on the table, and who made sure it was warm and toasty inside when it was 20 degrees outside. If she were liberated, who else could she turn to besides him? Her mother, Ayako, had been murdered a year before (and brutally at that), and Satoshi and Takeshi had gone missing several months prior (whether disappearing was voluntary on their part or not is debatable). Well, there still was Doctor Nanakamado, but he was currently too busy taking care of his grandson, Jun, who had sustained sever injuries after driving drunk. She had always found that strange, since, after all, Jun had never been stupid enough to go and get wasted and then drive his truck. He'd always been incredibly headstrong and stubborn, but never idiotic. The odd thing was, Takeshi, Satoshi, and Jun had all been giving Shinji a hard time shortly before these misfortunes befell them. It wasn't possible that Shinji had-_

_She jumped when Shinji snapped his fingers and glared coldly at her._

_"Stop daydreaming!" he hissed. "When your eyes are glazed-over like that, you look worse than you do normally!"_

_Hikari hiccuped and turned her face away from his starkly angry voice. Her fawn-like eyes brimmed with tears, as they always did when she was spoken to sharply._

_Shinji's strong hand reached over her turned-away shoulder and harshly grasped her chin. She let him roughly turn her face toward his and and lowered his eyes as he glared coldly at her._

_"Look at me," he sneered, and Hikari hesitantly lifted her face and stared hopelessly into his deep, malice-filled eyes. "Don't you ever even _consider _running off. Believe you me, Hikari, I won't let you. I'd hunt you down, and make sure you _never _escape again. Besides," a malevolent smirk crossed his face. "No one else would have an ugly wench like you!" Hikari stifled a gasp, but allowed her tears to flow freely now. "I'd never run away, Shinji. I'd never consider it! No one would take me in..." How? How could he have known that right then, only moments before, she'd been thinking those very thoughts he'd forbidden..? Shinji frowned more sharply than ever at her, and thrust her away from him. He only looked down apathetically at her as she fell with a thud onto the snow-covered ground. "Weakling. A homely, useless little weakling," he remarked stolidly as he removed a pokeball from his belt. "Come on out, Infernape. We have some business to attend to downtown." The primate growled in agreement, and Shinji stalked off from the girl who adored him. The only one who would have _**him**

_"I love you Shinji," she whispered, poignant tears streaming into the soft snow. "And I know you love me, too. Somewhere inside you... deep inside..."_

Haruka had been watching Hikari sitting there silently for the past few minutes, her eyes still glazed over, and yet watery, her lower lip trembling. She had no wish to disturb Hikari in this state, she was better left alone.

A few moments later, Hikari snapped out of her memories and looked toward Haruka, who seemed to be most concerned.

Hikari forced a smile, trying not to let the pain of the memory make her wince. She had to keep a happy face on, for Haruka's sake. Haruka seemed so sweet and caring, and so sincere and earnest about what she said...completely different from most people she was close with. Well, she was only close with _one _person, and he was Haruka's polar opposite in almost every way. There was no way Hikari deserved to spend time with such a darling woman, surely Haruka was just humoring her for the time being because she felt pity for a wretch like Hikari, there was no other explanation for why a beautiful, cheerful woman would agree to eat lunch with an ugly, talentless maid.

_There's only one person who'll ever want me, who'll ever take me...and even then, he does it grudgingly. _

"I'm sorry Haruka, our conversation brought on a recollection...one I didn't really want to revisit..."

Hikari lowered her eyes and gently placed a hand on the table.

Haruka couldn't help but be curious as to what had caused Hikari to lapse into such a pitiful mood, but she was afraid asking would upset her companion further, so she just smiled sweetly, and slowly, carefully, laid her own hand over Hikari's. She was surprised by how chilly and bony it felt...it was strange that such a lovely young woman would have such cold hands. Even so, the mere action of touching Hikari's hand had caused warmness and pleasant emotions to sure from her head throughout her whole body, and make her feel light as feather, as if dancing on pure, beautiful sunlight. Such a wonderful sensation, finally having physical contact with the person who she'd fallen for...even if it only appeared to be a platonic gesture. But it meant much, much more to Haruka than a friendly action, it was a way for her, in a discreet manner, to show Hikari that she cared about her, wanted to help her... maybe, someday, in some far off place, even love her...

Hikari couldn't help but smile when she felt Haruka's hand on her own. She lifted her eyes toward Haruka's face, and beamed even wider. The compassion, the trust, the understanding...Haruka wasn't here because she pitied her...she was here because she was a sincerely caring person. Such a wonderful person that she'd comfort a girl she'd just met, a girl she knew nothing about, whose past she'd never been told...Hikari felt herself shudder inward.

_No. She mustn't know. It's too dangerous. For the both of us. _She still managed to keep smiling, even though she was despairing inside. Hikari closed her eyes and slowly took in a deep breath. _Calm down, it's no big deal...not a big deal at all...just relax and enjoy the moment..._

_Why is she suddenly so quiet and solemn? _wondered Haruka, but she was too elated in that moment to worry further. Just looking upon Hikari, just touching her hand...it was enough to take her to Eutopia, her own Eutopia.

"HIKARI! What's up? It's been for-freakin'-ever!!" Haruka jerked back from Hikari and whipped her head around to see who had yelled out all of a sudden.

To her surprise, standing at the mess hall entrance was a rather buxom redhead, who was wearing a maroon-colored tank-top, black jacket, and faded bell bottoms. She had a wide grin that showed off her perfectly straight white teeth, and had a dark green back-pack thrown over her shoulder. Her short hair was slightly disheveled, and there were a few pieces of sand on her jacket sleeve, but other than that she seemed fairly neat and prim.

Hikari jumped excitedly out of her seat and ran energetically toward the young woman and gave her a huge smile.

"Oh my God! It's you, Nozomi! I can't believe you're here- it's just-wow-OH MY GOD!" she squealed, embracing her friend tightly.

"Yeah- it's great to see you, too, Hikari...you can stop hugging me now," Nozomi laughed good-naturedly. Hikari released her from her hold and enlarged her smile further.

"Sorry about that, Nozomi," she replied. "It's just been so long since I've seen you...I got a little overexcited."

Nozomi laughed and put a hand on Hikari's shoulder.

"You don't have to apologize for everything, Hikari...Jesus, you sure haven't changed a bit, eh?"

"Neither have you," Hikari remarked teasingly. "Still as raucous as ever."

Nozomi stuck her tongue out at Hikari and swung her hip out to the side. "Yeah, just because I didn't go to débutante school-- oh, hello, who're you?"

Haruka turned around in her seat and blushed slightly when she realized the girl was addressing her.

"Oh," she responded, standing up and bowing in the girl's direction. "I'm Haruka Normandy. I'm a coordinator and I'm entering the Sinnoh Grand Festival-"

"Good good," Nozomi said quickly, nodding her head. "I'm Nozomi Prosperine, and, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm an old friend of Hikari's." She winked after this comment, and Hikari laughed quietly.

"Just a quick tip, Haruka," Hikari added. "Don't call her Zomi...my friend Kengo had to learn that the hard way, didn't he, Nozomi?"

Nozomi put her hands on her hips and nodded solemnly. "My brother used to call me Zomi," she said, a slight tone of distaste in her voice. "He was a real prick. He called me that to the point I couldn't stand it anymore...So don't call me that name, or else I'll have to kick your ass." She grinned brightly with this last comment.

"Oh...I'm...oh," mumbled Haruka, not quite sure how to respond to Nozomi's last remark.

Hikari laughed and shook her waved her hands. "She's just kidding, Haruka, she always says stuff like that, it's sort of her thing."

Nozomi frowned indignantly. "I can speak for myself, Hikari!" She turned back to Haruka and said, "I'm just kidding, Haruka, I always say stuff like. It's sort of my thing."

"That's exactly what I said!"

Nozomi gave Hikari an amused smile. "I just love messing with you, Hikari," she laughed, as she pulled a chair from another table over to Haruka's and Hikari's table. "Mind if I join you two? I could really do with some coffee."

Hikari ran back over to the table and plopped into her seat, looking absolutely ecstatic to just be sitting next to her old friend.

Haruka forced herself to not scowl at them, even though there was nothing she would have rather done.

_They're old friends who haven't seen each other in a long while, and I've only just made Hikari's acquaintance..._

But she couldn't help feel a pang of jealousy and hurt when Hikari leaned over to Nozomi and began whispering into her ear and giggling. Nozomi chuckled and whispered something into Hikari's ear which apparently made her crack up.

_They're just old friends who get along really well..._Really _well..._

Haruka just stood there, looking out vacantly, and feeling dejected. _Nobody ever wants to sit and talk and giggle with _me_...even though I'm _way _better than that Nozomi-_

"Haruka!" Nozomi suddenly chirped up, startling the young girl out of her depressed thoughts.

"Y-yes?"

Nozomi grinned at her. "Stop looming there like you're Grim Death, and come over and sit with us!" Hikari rested her chin on her hand and smiled graciously at Haruka. "Yes, there's no need to be standing there all miserable, when there's a chair here to sit and be miserable." She winked jokingly at Haruka as she finished the last part of her statement.

Haruka forced a smile and strode over to the table. As she pulled out her chair, she noticed Nozomi and Hikari were talking and giggling again.

_That's great, she can't even bother to talk to me for five seconds without going back to Nozomi..._

Once she had sat down, Haruka rested her chin on the palms of her hands and frowned discontentedly. She had been having a perfectly good time with Hikari until _Nozomi _had butted in.

"Hey! Cafeteria Lady!" Nozomi yelled, as soon as Mrs. Turnway had emerged from her office.

"Whad'dya want?!" she snapped, looking most disgruntled.

She stomped over to their table and glared coldly at Nozomi, while placing her chubby hands on her hips. "Well?"

Nozomi leaned back in her chair and lowered her eyelids lazily. "Thank you for showing such an absolutely delightful attitude to your customers," she remarked dryly, causing Mrs. Turnway to sneer at her. "It really makes one so eager to pay one's own money on your products-"

"Just tell me what you want," Mrs. Turnway growled.

Nozomi folded her hands in her lap and smiled at Mrs. Turnway with mock sweetness. "I'm glad you care so much, Madam. I'd greatly appreciate a cup of piping hot café noir."

"Fine," replied the cafeteria worker shortly, stomping into the kitchen.

After she was out of earshot, Nozomi grinned and turned to Hikari. "She really knows how to make _me _feel at home, doesn't she, Hikari?"

Upon hearing this, Hikari's face lit up and she burst into a fit of a laughter.

"That she does, Nozomi, that she does," she managed to say in-between chortles.

_What in the...why is she laughing at **that. **_Haruka slowly crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Might I ask-"

"What's so funny?" Nozomi finished the sentence for her, and gave Haruka a bemused smile. "It's just a little joke between Hikari and me-"

"Ah, I see," said Haruka, trying to cover up any hint of sourness present in her voice. "An inside joke of sorts."

Nozomi nodded her head. "Yeah, that sounds about right. It's not really all that complex or anything, it's just I have a really pissy mother and Hikari and I are always joking about it. So, um, yeah."

"Oh, uh-okay," replied Haruka uncertainly, discreetly stealing a glance at Hikari, who had stopped laughing, but still seemed more engrossed with Nozomi than anything else.

"So," she said suddenly, with the intent to jerk Hikari's attention away from Nozomi. "Um, to date, what do you feel is your greatest achievement as a Pokémon coordinator is?"

"Err..." Hikari frowned slightly and gave Haruka a peculiar look. "Um, I'm really not sure...why do you ask, Haruka?"

Not expecting to be asked this question, Haruka was taken aback and had no idea of how to respond.

Haruka sat there silently for a few minutes, causing both Hikari and Nozomi to stare at her with increasing impatience.

"Well?" Hikari asked finally.

"I guess I'm just...curious about your career as a coordinator...and I thought it'd make good conversation," Haruka squeaked, her cheeks turning crimson out of embarrassment.

_Great, just fucking great, I've managed to make myself look like an idiot AND a weirdo all at once!_

"Oookay," said Hikari, who appeared to be a bit peeved with Haruka, but, thankfully, not angry. "I guess my performance in my second Pokémon contest- I'm particularly proud of that."

Nozomi nodded her head emphatically. "Yeah, that's where Hikari won her first ribbon. Against your old pal Kengo, wasn't it?"

"Yep," replied Hikari. She began smiling and seemed no longer irritated, which was a relief for Haruka. "Pachirisu really pulled through for me that time, it did a really amazing job." She turned from Nozomi to Haruka and grinned. "I can't really take all the credit for that appeal, since Pachirisu was one who made such an amazing display-"

"Here's your COFFEE!" Mrs. Turnway announced snappishly, slamming the mug on the table. Haruka jerked back to avoid any of the black coffee splashing on her blouse, but alas, she was left with a nasty stain on her top that no amount of washer cycles would ever take out. Hikari fared little better, and ended up with her favorite sweater having several dark blotches that, to this day, have proved impossible to wash out.

Nozomi stuck her tongue out at Mrs. Turnway's back once the cafeteria-worker had turned around and marched into her office. She then promptly lifted her mug and took a deep sip.

"OH, gross!" she exclaimed as the coffee sprayed out of her mouth. "That stuff is disgusting! What do they make it out of, cow crap?!"

"Nozomi!" Hikari hissed. "Don't spit out the coffee like that! I don't need any more coffee splotches on my sweater than I already have!"

"Sorry," mumbled Nozomi, wiping her mouth and looking dismal. "But what else am I supposed to do when I taste something that s-tty?"

Hikari stood up from her seat, and began brushing her sweater, hoping to eliminate at least a few of the spots. Once she realized it was doing no good, she looked over at Nozomi and frowned.

"Well, for one, you could've spit into your cup, NOT across the table!" she replied, her voice tinged with aggravation.

"Well, I didn't have time to think about that!"

"It's not something you should have to think about- it should just be common sense to NOT SPRAY COFFEE ALL OVER YOUR FRIEND'S DAMN SWEATER!"

After this outburst, the other people in the cafeteria (who, at this point, were feeling quite aggrieved) began to stare resentfully at the threesome. This only resulted in further tension between Hikari and Nozomi.

Haruka, who'd been sitting nice and quietly through the ordeal, couldn't help but feel a bit of smug satisfaction. If Nozomi kept antagonizing Hikari like this, Hikari would, doubtlessly, have no further interest in her, and, sick and tired of such a high-strung woman, would instead turn to the much more pleasant-natured Haruka for friendship.

_And from there, the two of us would spend many happy years as great and loyal friends, and no silly obstacles preventing us from having an enjoyable time..._ However, Haruka was more than a little dismayed to see Hikari and slumped back into her seat and was laughing hysterically with Nozomi.

_Or maybe not_, Haruka thought dejectedly.

---

"Miss? MISS!" Kengo looked around frantically for the young woman who had dashed by him, but she was already out of his sight.

"This is great," Kengo sighed, as he fell onto the ground and ran his fingers through his auburn hair. "Now I'm stuck with this girl's cell phone and I have no idea of how to return it to her-"

"Cell phone?" inquired a voice suspiciously from behind him. Kengo jumped up and spun around and was surprised to see the very woman who had dropped her mobile while racing past him.

"Oh-uh-um-y-yes," he stammered, holding it out to her. "You-uh-dropped it." The woman gave him a smile that seemed innocent enough, though he could feel a bit of mischief about her.

"Thank you, hon'," she said sweetly, pocketing the phone quickly. Pulling her long, rose-colored hair into a scrunchy, she hastily added, "You didn't happen to see any-err-pictures or anything else on the phone, did you?"

Kengo raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "No-o-o."

The woman heaved a sigh of relief and grinned brightly at him. "Oh, that's great. I mean, there weren't any _bad _pictures or anything...just some really stupid and embarrassing ones I took of myself...just you know, one of those stupid things everyone does when they get a camera phone." as she said this, she began laughing nervously, which led to Kengo's own suspicions to heighten.

"Um-okay, sure," he replied, picking up his backpack that had fallen off.

"Alrighty then. bye!" the woman said hurriedly, quickly walking off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kengo called after her, beginning to run toward her direction. She stopped, and turned to him, obviously annoyed by the very thought of spending any more of her precious time with him. "Yes?" she asked icily, her grey eyes beginning to narrow.

"I just wanted to ask you something," Kengo said. "I did see one thing on your phone- _Saori Nakatsu_ was engraved on the back. I-is that your name?"

"Oh." Instead of cold toward him, she now seemed to be ill at ease. "Yes, yes it is. What's it to you?"

"Nothing," replied Kengo quickly. 'it's just I thought I heard your name before somewhere."

"Well, I'm sure you did. I _did _win the Kantou Grand Festival a few years back," remarked Saori. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off." With that, she turned her nose up to Kengo and continued walking toward her destination.

Kengo shrugged his shoulders, and began heading back to his dormitory, trying to ignore the haunting suspicion Saori had given him. But he just couldn't shake his apprehensive feelings.

---

"...so, _that's _why Lopunny and Floatzel would be your best choice for the appeals round, Hikari," explained Nozomi, even though she had lost Hikari's attention a long ways back in the conversation.

"Uh-huh," replied Hikari, taking a sip from the can of lemonade she'd bought from the vending machine outside the mess hall.

Nozomi, Hikari, and Haruka had been walking around the grounds surrounding the Contest Hall after a group of other diners, fed up with the rambunctious girls, had forced them out of the mess hall. Haruka, in spite of herself, was actually having a good time, and, by-and-by, warming up to Nozomi. She was actually a pretty decent girl, once you got past her frequent cursing and the long-winded explanations she seemed to enjoy giving.

Haruka folded her arms over her head and looked up toward the sky to admire the radiant sky that was slowly approaching dusk. It was always her favorite time of day, the clouds turning a lovely peach-rose color, the sun a giant gold orb on the horizon, and the contented sleepiness that always came over a person when the day was soon over. Yes, there was certainly nothing better than a sunset, in Haruka's opinion at least.

Nozomi noticed Haruka was gazing up into the heavens, and, thinking there was some sort of sky-high phenomenon that had captured Haruka's attention, she too looked up, but was disappointed when she realized it was nothing more than a sunset. Something you could see anyday, you could probably watch anytime of day, too, what with Youtube videos and all that.

_Wait if the sun's setting... it must be around six... oh shit, the party's at seven! I have to go get ready-_

"I'm sorry guys!" she yelled, running frantically to her dormitory. "But I have to go get ready for the big gala party tonight! I can't go looking like this, I look like crap!"

"Wha- party?! _Gala _party?! What in the hell is she talking about?! I didn't hear anything about this!" exclaimed Haruka. "Hey! Nozomi! Wait up! What party are you talking about?!" Knowing her words would never reach Nozomi, she took off running after her.

"Oh for the love of- HARUKA! NOZOMI! WAIT FOR ME!" yelled Hikari, who too began sprinting after Nozomi. Even though she didn't like to admit it, she never could resist a party- _especially _not a gala party!

-------------------

There you go, Chapter 2! I'm really, really sorry it took me awhile to upload- I was suffering from a bit of writer's block oo;;. Anyway, I personally think this chapter is better than the first, and, hopefully, chapter three will be even better! Peace!


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